Obtaining Credit/Practicum

The Practicum is a zero-credit, pass-fail course recorded on a student's permanent transcript, provides a record of the student's participation in a University sanctioned internship, cooperative education, research, and/or service-learning placement and enables The Shriver Center to evaluate the student's performance.

The Internship or Cooperative Education Practicum is designed to assess students' professional performance, based on their mid-semester review, final appraisal and other information. For our Service-Learning programs the Practicum is a structured opportunity to reflect upon their service, and learn through an exchange of experiences while providing quality service to the community. The course can provide students with full-time status, independent of their credit load, so that housing, health insurance, student aid and loans can be maintained. Students are expected to enroll in the practicum each semester that they participate in Center programs.

The Practicum:

• Provides structure and establishes clear expectations for students and employers
• Provides evidence that the placement is a University sanctioned experience (transcript notation) whether or not the student receives academic credit
• Requires that students and supervisors set realistic learning objectives for each semester of placement
• Allows for evaluation of performance and placement
• Can be linked to upper-level academic credit when appropriate
• Allows students to maintain full-time student status while participating in internships, research or co-op

Practicum Forms/Requirements

Obtaining Credit
Several courses are offered each semester that allow students enrolled in a Practicum Course to link their experience to a course offering upper-level credits in a variety of disciplines.

For a list of courses <<click here>> (WORD document)

Get Your Internship, Research or Co-op Recognized
Students who have obtained or currently have an internship, research or cooperative education position, can also receive a transcript notation by enrolling in the Center’s PRAC course and may be eligible to earn academic credit as a university sanctioned experience. Call the Shriver Center at 410-455-2493 to make an appointment.

The following steps below outline the process if you found the internship/co-op/research on your own:

Obtain Verification from your Placement
Ask your employing organization to provide the following on their company letterhead with a signature of a professional staff member of the organization who can verify your intern/co-op/research status:

• A complete and detailed position description
• A commitment to employment dates that correspond to a full semester at UMBC
• The student’s schedule to include hours worked per week.
• Supervisor’s contact information
• Salary information (if applicable)
• Have your employer sign the Employer Agreement

Schedule Your Appointment
You are now ready to meet with a coordinator. Schedule your appointment by calling the front office at (410) 455-2493 or stop by The Shriver Center.

Arrive at your appointment with:

1) Your verification from your placement

2) Signed Employer Agreement

During your appointment your Shriver Center coordinator will enroll you in the appropriate zero-credit pass/fail Practicum, and discuss the requirements and credit options with you.

If a placement that is posted on UMBCworks or advertised directly by The Shriver Center is found and accepted, a University-imposed registration fee for participating in an Internship/Co-op/Research Practicum is billed to your myUMBC account at a rate of $35 for part-time (<35 hours/week) or $70 for full-time (>35 hours).  This is a one time, per placement fee that will allow the same position to be noted on your transcript for subsequent semesters.